Caribbean leaders push back on U.S. travel-ban threats, ask Washington for clarity
The leaders of several Caribbean governments being targeted under a proposed U.S. travel ban say they have received no formal notifications from the Trump administration that their nation is among dozens of countries whose nationals could be shut out of the United States.
2025-03-19 20:02:07 - VI News Staff
The Miami Herald was first to confirm that along with Cuba and Venezuela, which would be hit with an absolute ban on their nationals entering the U.S., Haiti and some other Caribbean countries would also face restrictions on their nationals traveling to the U.S. The following day, the New York Times named 43 countries under consideration, and which of the three tiers each would fall under in the plan being crafted by Trump adviser Stephen Mill
The proposal would severely restrict access to the United States, including for high-ranking government officials, and has caught many Caribbean nationals by surprise. It is creating consternation not just from a policy standpoint, but among people who have children and other relatives living in the U.S. and would be unable to travel here even if they have a valid visa.
The proposal comes amid continued push-back from Caribbean leaders over U.S. visa cancellation threats over their governments’ employment of Cuban doctors. Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department is taking steps to cancel the visas of anyone participating in Cuba’s medical missions, which deploy nurses and doctors to countries around the world, including in the Caribbean.
“There’s nothing we’re not afraid to answer to. We have been very transparent. We engage governments in transparency. People know us. What we say in the night, is what we say in the day; our word is our bond,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Monday during a press conference when asked about reports that his tiny nation is among the four Eastern Caribbean countries targeted for a ban. “We are prepared to engage everyone, including the United States, in this matter. So whatever concerns the United States may have, which I do not know of yet, we are prepared to respond.”